


Incitation

by ripitto



Category: Cardfight!! Vanguard
Genre: Developing Relationship, M/M, Mild Sexual Content, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2020-02-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 23:08:48
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,532
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22683757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ripitto/pseuds/ripitto
Summary: Chrono is patient. He has his ways of doing things.
Relationships: Ibuki Kouji/Shindou Chrono
Comments: 6
Kudos: 15





	Incitation

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this sitting on my computer for a month or two, so forgive me for posting it on valentine's day despite it not being in any way valentine themed.

"There you are." Just as he'd approached the staircase in the main hall, Ibuki heard Chrono call out to him, sharply. Ibuki was alert, on the go, and yet he'd detected and stopped at the sound. "I thought you weren't gonna show." The heavy bag over Chrono's shoulder curved his silhouette. He didn't set it down. "Mamoru said you were gonna be here by lunch."

"I... I'm running late. Sorry." Perplexed, Ibuki apologized without thinking. He wasn't here to see Chrono.

"That's fine." Chrono said, irritably. "I assumed you would be. Did you eat?" The straight forward question was indeed a demand of information and not a conversation starter. Ibuki failed to immediately realize. He was in a hurry, and Chrono usually wouldn't keep him.

"I..." Chrono would see right through him if he lied, so Ibuki had no choice but to go with the less worse option. "It's been a long day. I though I'd eat as soon I got here, but..."

"I thought so." Chrono grumbled. He slid one of the straps off his shoulder, and the unzipped bag cracked open for Ibuki to glance inside. Lodged between binders and book spines was a sturdy plastic container. Chrono wedged it out, and Ibuki could hear the sound of the books tipping against each other. Chrono held it out, his wrist limp, without raising his eyes from his bag as he got it zipped back up. "Here." Ibuki took it, realizing only what it meant as he felt the weight of it in his hand. "You can eat during the meeting. They should still have some cutlery by the microwave in the break room."

"Thank... you..." Ibuki stared at the container in his hand. It was heavier than it looked, and through the semi-transparent colored hard plastic he could only vaguely see the contents of the different compartments. He had places to be, but momentarily the thought escaped him.

"The meeting's on the first floor, by the way." Chrono pointed behind him, across the hall. "Hurry up now, they're waiting for you."

"Right."

It was a relatively quiet day at the Dragon Empire branch. Relatively. Chrono walked Ibuki across the hall to the meeting room on the first floor, crossing between coming and going patrons. "I heard you would be here today so I thought I'd stop by."

"Sorry to make you wait. I'm quite busy today."

"That's okay." Chrono shrugged. "I was studying anyway. Mamoru let me sit in the clan leaders' office." With a glance, Ibuki saw Chrono eyeing the main exit across the entrance hall. "I gotta go now, though."

"I see." Ibuki hadn't been able to prepare much for the meeting, and his mind was frantically phasing through the different topics he knew they would cover.

"Bye." Chrono backed away from him with his hands gripping the handles of his bag tightly.

"Yes, bye now." Ibuki smiled.

His hunger pangs settled like a faint searing pain in his gut, fading out of his mind with the meeting absorbing all his focus. Ibuki forgot about Chrono's packed lunch until about halfway through. They'd stopped for a short break to refill coffee cups and allow visits to the lavatory. Returning to the meeting room while sipping his coffee, Mamoru caught him in the act. "Oh, what's that you're eating?" He sounded impressed, and more so curious. 

Ibuki had to swallow before speaking. "Chrono made it."

"I see." Mamoru laughed, somehow. "It looks good!"

"It is." The marinated fish didn't look like it was leftovers. It was a simple but good meal. Ibuki in particular fancied this sort of flaky and soft white fish, preferably like this, with the skin still on it. The homemade pickled vegetables were delicious, too.

"There you are." Ibuki had spotted Chrono walking down the corridor lined with office doors. He was traversing deep into employees-only territory, something no one at the Dragon Empire branch stopped to question.

His arms crossed, Chrono turned to reveal the disapproving look on his face. With curious eyes, Ibuki hesitantly smiled. Chrono reached into his bag, and pressed the plastic container against his chest. "You're late."

"I still have time to eat." Ibuki grappled with the slippery lunch box. Break was long over, which was why it was only the two of them in the break room. Chrono was reading course work when Ibuki told him between bites "You could make coffee."

"I'm good." Chrono replied without looking up.

"Alright."

The minutes were ticking by. Ibuki did have time to eat, but only if he hurried. "By the way," Chrono said, changing his tone and his voice came alive with sparkling clarity. He was still reading. Ibuki looked up from his meal. Meat strips seasoned with sesame oil, rice, and fresh vegetables. Another mix of his favorites. "What's like... the protocol you guys have if something happens these days?"

"As in?" Ibuki asked after swallowing.

"Like, for example... what about your emergency contacts?"

_"My—"_

"You _do_ have a set emergency contact, right?" Chrono snapped his head up, his sharp eyes locking onto Ibuki's face.

"I... I'm afraid not." Ibuki admitted shamefully.

_"Seriously?"_ Pained, Ibuki couldn't muster a response. "Come on. Let's set one. Let's set one right now." Chrono gestured at his phone that laid on top of the table, right next to the lunch box he was eating out of.

"Chrono, I can... do that later." Ibuki argued, tiredly. "I'm eating now."

"Sure you can, but you'll forget. You never know what could happen. And knowing you... it wouldn't be the first time." Chrono argued stubbornly.

Ibuki knew he was right. He couldn't forge any counter-points strong enough. "Alright." Tired, but compliant, he flipped his phone face up on the table. "Who should it be, then?"

"Well, who could you rely on in an emergency?" Chrono asked an important question. "Who's someone you trust, someone you can communicate easily with? Someone who could help you any time?"

Thinking, a few names surfaced in his mind. "Anjou." Ibuki suggested.

"...It might be best to choose someone outside of the Vanguard Association." Chrono said to him, confidently. "What if you're together when something happens? I mean, it wouldn't be unlikely."

He had a point. "Kai, then." Ibuki said, decidedly. "We always stay in touch. And if something is happening he's always on top of things."

Chrono was thinking. Slowly closing his book, he set it aside and crossed his arms. "He travels a lot, though. What if he's abroad?"

"That's... not ideal." Ibuki admitted.

"What about Aichi?" Chrono took his turn to suggest.

"I couldn't... I've already relied on him so much." Ibuki grumbled.

"Really? I mean, I thought the two of you were better friends than that."

Ibuki looked away. "Not Sendou. Alright?"

"Okay, _okay..."_

Ibuki sighed. Soon the mirage would fade, peace would slip from his fingers and he would have to leave this oasis and return to his hectic life. The short lunch break that he'd longed for was slipping away. "Who's your emergency contact, anyway?"

Chrono smiled broadly, his eyes lighting up. "Shion."

 _Right._ "I see." Ibuki said bitterly.

"He always knows where I am, too. For some reason." Chrono said pointedly. "Same for Tokoha."

Ibuki was still hungry. He stared at his food. "I see." He repeated.

"So, who else?" Chrono wouldn't let him lose track of their conversation.

"I don't..." Ibuki was very close to complaining. He had places to be in just a few minutes. He clutched his phone in his hand, staring at the contact list. Chrono had pulled his foot up in his chair and was staring at him, waiting for another suggestion to be judged and discarded. Ibuki was running out of patience.

"How about..." Unwillingly, Ibuki voiced his next viable option. "How about you?"

"Me?"

Chrono's name was sitting right there in his contact list. "Yeah." Ibuki had grabbed his chopsticks again, with his free hand. "If you're alright with it."

Chrono looked the other way. He smiled. "Sure. Alright."

Ibuki saw the post on social media before hearing of it elsewhere. Chrono wasn't that active, so it stood out on his feed. 

_I got my driver's license! Finally_

Within a few minutes he'd made a second post in reply to comments left by his friends.

_Not posting it because you will all just make fun of the pic. So stop asking_

The words were followed by a row of tags, Shion's name, Tokoha's name, and then Kazuma's name a number of times. Unaware that Chrono had been trying to get a license in the first place, Ibuki was surprised. He thought to comment and congratulate him, but soon forgot.

In the summer heat, he'd become lightheaded and dehydrated. He also didn't have much appetite. When Chrono pressed a cool water bottle against his chest alongside the lunchbox, today filled with a light omelette, fresh greens and rice, it was akin to a promise of salvation.

"I heard everyone's going out drinking after work today." Chrono brought it up as they were parting.

"Oh." Ibuki had forgotten. "Indeed."

"You're celebrating?"

"Yes." Chrono was right to assume. They were celebrating that the summer events had gone by without any problems. Well, without any devastating problems, at least. Ibuki was still in work mode. It was still too soon for him to relax.

"So... are you coming?" Chrono asked him, looking the other way.

"I... I might." Ibuki hadn't thought that far ahead. He was already quite tired. People were going to get drunk, for sure. More drunk than usual.

"You might?"

Ibuki was displeased. He knew it sounded like a no. He'd essentially made up his mind already. "I have no way to get home, anyhow."

"I could take you." Chrono suggested, shrugging.

Ibuki frowned.

"Oh, come on. I'll take you home. You drink and have some fun." Chrono slapped his back with his open palm.

The idea weaseled its way into Ibuki's mind. Some ten, eleven hours later it was still on his mind, even as the rest of the world had become a blur. His glass had slammed down on the counter, and his face followed. It had been a hot day. A long day. Spirits had been high, and he'd forgotten he wasn't as used to drinking heavily as most of his colleagues. It was Jaime of all people who helped him up when he'd slipped and almost lost his footing. How much he'd had, he couldn't fully remember, for he was not the one picking up the tab tonight.

"Hey, hey, _hey,"_ Jaime said, as he helped Ibuki take a seat. As usual he'd invited himself along with Enishi, and was tactically enough not yet blind drunk. "You okay? About time you thought about getting home, huh?" Ibuki mumbled indistinctly in response. "How're you getting home tonight?"

Ibuki's mind grappled with time and place and other such basic concepts but his thoughts connected at the question. "Chrono..." He slurred.

"Huh?"

"Chrono... Chrono is taking me home."

"Right, _right." Ibuki couldn't see his face, but he heard Jaime let out a loud, bubbly laugh. "Chrono?" Without discretion, he yelled obnoxiously across the bar. _"Chrono!"__

__

__

Without any real questions, nor a single complaint, Chrono had fished Ibuki's keys out of the pocket on his jacket and stuck him in the backseat of his car. Ibuki fell asleep, but before then, he watched the rear view of Chrono driving, the beams of orange street lights flickering by in the dark like waves on the ocean. Getting home, his head felt like it was stuck in a wringer. He had to go to the bathroom, but after that, his head hit the pillow hard, and he was so tired he almost fell asleep without getting in under the covers.

Before he drifted off, the last thing he remembered was the light touch of Chrono's hand on his back through the covers, and his hushed voice speaking to him kindly. "I'll be sleeping on the couch. Let me know if you need anything."

"Yeah." Already in a dream, Ibuki replied, mumbling.

"Goodnight."

"...Goodnight."

Shuffling all his papers together while trying to desperately end a call with a contractor, Ibuki hurried to leave his desk and get in his car. He was hungry. Arriving at the Dragon Empire branch office, it was a busy day, and he had to search for Chrono in the crowds. His assumptions had brought him this far, and he was at risk of realizing as much, but before he could, he spotted him coming down the stairs.

The clan leader office was a quiet amidst the storm. Ibuki had a moment before they would all come and join him for the briefing. Today's lunch was fried rice with pork. A simple dish but Chrono had perfected the mild yet rich flavorings of the seasoning and Ibuki ate with good appetite. His reading material spread out over Mamoru's desk like a second layer over Mamoru's own ordered mess of papers and folders, Chrono watched him with his face in his hand. "I heard you're going to the states." He said, dully.

"I am." Ibuki confirmed between bites.

"Next week, right?"

"Yes."

"Huh." Chrono leaned back in his chair, his hands falling into his lap.

"It's a work trip." Ibuki said, reaffirming what Chrono already knew. "It's going to be busy. Too busy for anything but work."

"Right." Chrono replied sourly. He crossed his arms.

"It's not like you to be jealous."

Chrono didn't respond, and Ibuki was eating, absorbed with his food. "...Do you have anyone house watching?"

Ibuki looked up. Chrono was reading. "What?"

"Yeah? Do you?"

"No...?" Confused, Ibuki dried his mouth with a napkin. He folded it and slid it in under Chrono's food container. "It's not like I have pets. Or plants."

"Really? No plants?" Chrono expressed his disbelief, glancing up from his books. "Not a single one?"

"None."

"...So you're fine with just leaving without anyone keeping the place in order?" Chrono asked him, seriously. "What if something happens to the plumbing or the wiring while you're away?"

Ibuki hadn't thought of that. "I... I won't be gone for more than a week."

"Well, you never know." Ibuki scratched his head. Chrono was reading again. "What does your contract say about tenants causing property damage due to oversight or negligence?" His eyes narrowing, Ibuki's thoughts scrambled in a faint, dissonant panic.

That Sunday night, they met outside Mikuru's apartment, and Ibuki pressed his spare house keys into Chrono's open palm. "Just hold on to them. In case there's something." Ibuki was already about to leave. He had a flight early the next morning.

"I thought I might check in on Tuesday or Wednesday." Chrono said, putting the keys away in his pocket. "If that's okay with you?"

"Sure." Ibuki said, walking back to his car, getting the door open. "If you have the time."

Chrono grinned. "Okay. Sure."

Two cross Atlantic flights and a whole week's worth of headache inducing negotiations later, Ibuki stepped back down on Japanese soil, twice jetlagged, famished and exhausted. Like anyone in his position, he had wholly forgotten about any theoretical gas leaks, electrical fires or flooded bathroom floors. In the brightness of the early morning light, it was first obscured to his tired eyes, but as he came indoors, Ibuki came to the strange realization that he did not find his own apartment familiar. Dragging his feet on the squeaky clean floors he marveled at the cleared counter top and kitchen table. A dry cleaning bill sat on the fridge, with scribbles in red pen.

_Made you some food. It's in the fridge. In case you didn't eat_

It was unsigned. Ibuki ripped it off with a tired sigh. The same, to him familiar container sat on his table moments later as he ate right out of it. Egg salad with chicken and tomatoes tastes best fresh and cold, and can be eaten straight out of the fridge.

"You're going back to work?" Chrono had run into him by the entrance as he was leaving. He was too, but homewards.

"I'm afraid so." Ibuki admitted reluctantly.

"The crunch is real, huh..." Chrono was upset on his behalf.

"Yes, but I'm not the only one."

"I mean, yeah, but..." Chrono shrugged. He glanced outside, past the doors as they opened. The greenery was not covered in snow, not just yet. "It's gotta be tough working through the holidays every single year." The Dragon Empire branch was preparing for yet another event, and they would continue to work late into the night, just like how Ibuki was heading back to the main branch at the hour he would normally start thinking of heading home.

"Well, that's the line of work we do." Ibuki reasoned.

"What's the situation for you, though?"

As they headed outside into the cold, Chrono shoved his hands into his pockets. Ibuki looked at him. "During the holidays?"

"Sure."

"I got work." Ibuki replied, awkwardly.

Chrono grumbled. "Your place must be a mess."

 _How did he know?_ Ibuki asked himself, but realized it was a stupid question. "Well, I... am barely home."

"So you don't deny it's a mess." Ibuki pressed his lips together tightly. Chrono looked at him, but Ibuki did not return the gesture. "Must be stressful to come home to. I can't stand it myself."

"I don't enjoy it, no."

The frozen blades of grass crunched under their feet. "So, when do you get off tonight?"

"I don't know, in a few more hours I believe." Ibuki was searching for his car keys in his pocket.

"...If you're not too tired, we could hang out."

"Sure, but... I don't feel like going out." Ibuki said earnestly, just a bit torn.

"We could be at your place, then."

"We both just concluded it's a mess." Ibuki said bitterly, shooting Chrono a sharp look, one that was not received. Chrono was looking the other way.

"I could fix it up." Chrono suggested most casually. "I got... a few hours, was it?" With his car keys clutched inside his hand, Ibuki stared at him. He slowed in his step. "And on the way back, you could get us takeout." Chrono continued walking steadily.

 _Food._ One of Chrono's used lunchboxes still sat in his sink at home. He could be more embarrassed. Chrono had pulled ahead, and Ibuki hurried to catch up. "I don't know when I'll be home." He argued. "Are you just going to sit around for hours on end?"

"No?" Chrono argued back. "I'll have stuff to do. We just concluded that. And I got my books." Ibuki was still hesitant. Chrono could tell. "We could have a fight. Or two." He grinned. His eyes came alive with a mischievous spark. "It's been a while." It had been a while. Too long, frankly. Ibuki sighed. "Unless you'll be too tired for that?" Chrono teased him. He rushed ahead, his feet light, his scarf flapping behind his back.

Ibuki chased after him. "I didn't... _I didn't say that!"_

He woke with an aching back, but with a well rested head, his hair a mess. Covered with a blanket he did not remember putting over himself, Ibuki roused on the couch.

The coffee table was a battlefield left abandoned. It had been Chrono's win in the end, as the cards would reveal with little inspection. Ibuki had lost the battle, and the war. Yawning, Ibuki squinted in the morning light. He had work today, again, but that wasn't enough to put a damper on his mood. In the kitchen, he could hear Chrono rinsing his own plastic containers, and preparing breakfast. Ibuki waited a while longer before getting up.

With school children still held up in class for another few hours, Ibuki's early lunch visit to the Dragon Empire branch was without bustle. The sunlight of an early spring day did little to bend the flow of time, but Ibuki was still surprised to not be greeted. Not by bustle, not by anything at all.

"Oh, yeah." Mamoru said when Ibuki finally found him, hiding away amidst filing cabinets in an utility room Ibuki had hardly known existed. "He came by before. Said he couldn't stay. He's busy until tonight. He left you something in the fridge, though."

Out of sorts, he dragged his feet through the empty hallways and to the abandoned break room. The fridge door came open, and within its uninspiring four walls there was indeed a familiar container. He'd eaten a few bites when his phone buzzed.

_Did you find the food?_

As hungry as he was, Ibuki still prioritized replying.

_I did. Anjou told me you're busy_

As soon as he'd sent it, he saw Chrono typing.

_Yeah... I'd call but I'm in class_

He should pay attention to that then, Ibuki thought. Chrono continued to write. He waited, eating.

_I'll be off at four. I still got your keys since last time, forgot to return them. Mind if I swing by?_

The rotation was back to flaky white fish. With the skin, and the homemade pickles. Ibuki hadn't forgotten about the key, but it hadn't been on his mind, either.

_Not at all. I'll be home at around seven, though_

Ibuki replied fast, with nothing to distract him. The fridge hummed, the water cooler bubbled, and Ibuki's mind was alive with a buzz, too, his imagination drawing pictures in his mind. He awaited Chrono's reply. He never left him waiting for long.

_Great! I'll see you then_

The message sent, he was soon typing again.

_Oh, and_

_I thought I'd let myself in. If you don't mind?_

Ibuki had assumed he would.

_That's fine_

_Thank you for the fish, by the way_

_I really like it_

Chrono was typing. He was typing, and then he stopped, before starting again.

_I know_

The dishwasher was on, rumbling like the sounds of a monsoon rain. Chrono had put their leftovers away in the fridge, and it would be tomorrow's lunch. It had been quite a long day for him. An early morning, at least. Ibuki couldn't tell.

Under the covers, Ibuki was encapsulated in warmth. Meanwhile, the apartment was cold. A residue of moisture on his skin made the contrast all the more apparent when exposed. It made him remember how earlier that night, they'd spoken about cohesive attraction. It was, as Chrono had explained to him, the attraction between the same kind of molecules. It was chemistry, he'd said, not physics, but basic stuff. Ibuki, who knew next to nothing about neither, had simply listened. When they were together, they would always talk. Sometimes quite incessantly, if not passionately. Chrono would always ask him questions, ask for his viewpoint and opinions. Ibuki had realized, and made an effort to ask questions in return. Such as, what it was that he was reading about in his textbooks. That was how they'd started talking about cohesive attraction, and covalent bonds... and the properties of sliding friction.

Though, lately, the time they spent together without conversing had been increasing. It was still hard not to make a sound. Ibuki had started giving up on it, actually. Chrono had already heard him, anyway.

Some of his clothes had made it into the laundry basket in the bathroom. Most of them were on the bed, or on the floor. It was still quite early, and in the fridge the leftovers were still cooling down. Ibuki too, cooled when Chrono's head rose, the covers sliding down off his shoulders. It was the cohesive attraction that made the wet residue from his lips bind together on his neck, and on his chest, and it was the adhesive attraction that made it stick to his skin, but Ibuki wasn't thinking about that anymore. No, he had barely any thoughts left.

Chrono's legs were strong, and his motion steady. His body was hot, and his breath hotter, as Ibuki found without a doubt as his lips again pressed against his skin. He held onto the back of Chrono's shirt with a vice grip, and Chrono continued to watch his faltering expression, staring at him with a shine in his eye. Leaning in, he braced, and Ibuki felt him reach deeper. He pushed them closer, moving faster, and Ibuki moaned and he whined, and within another moment he felt Chrono's lips form words against his skin. "Are you coming?" He asked, and Ibuki had no idea why. He knew Chrono could feel his legs quivering with every thrust and hear the desperate sound of his voice.

Frustrated and stubborn, Ibuki willed himself to reply. _"Yes, I..._ I am."

Chrono's clothes were on the floor too, and on the bed. Well, except for his jacket. It was hanging by the door, Ibuki's spare house key still zipped up securely in his pocket. His body tensing, Ibuki clutched Chrono tight and close, squeezing him. Chrono still moved, relentless. He wouldn't stop, not until Ibuki gasped sharply and came to a rest once the tremors of his orgasm came to pass.

Panting, Chrono slowly let his head tip down to a rest on Ibuki's bare chest. Throwing his head back down on the pillow, Ibuki didn't move, either. He glanced Chrono's expression, his eyes still sharp—no, sharper than before—watching him with a loving, knowing smile.

Ibuki woke, awakened by the sharp morning light, his internal clock. His alarm was yet to ring. His bed was warm, radiating with heat like the sun rays on his skin. Chrono slept next to him, peacefully and without a sound. He had a restful and relaxed expression, slowly breathing. Ibuki sat up, rubbing his eyes. He'd prefer to go back to sleep if he could, but while struck with a strange familiarity his restless mind was wandering. Reality had left its imprints on his dreams. Waking up next to Chrono was not a dream, though. It was was a reality that he had come to expect. Chrono still slept, sleeping through Ibuki's pondering. He appeared as distant and as innocent as only a peaceful slumber would allow. Ibuki stared at him in an accusing manner.

How many times had it been now? He was struggling to remember. The months had gone by, and the further he retraced the harder it was to say when it had all started. Chrono had slipped through the cracks, unnoticed. It wasn't easy to make Ibuki rely on others, or have him take the caring gestures of others for granted, but Chrono had cracked him. Ibuki had accepted it all, and spread himself wide open.

Ibuki fell back down with a dull sound, staring at the ceiling. His body still felt just a bit raw and tingly. Turning his head over, he saw Chrono still sleeping, still and quiet in the light of a sun beam. Ibuki slid closer to him, traversing in under Chrono's covers, grabbing him tight. Startled, coming awake, he only mumbled in response. Ibuki pressed them close together, Chrono's back to his chest. "You're unbelievable."

Chrono barely struggled before giving up. Weakly, he jabbed his elbow into Ibuki's ribcage. "Oh, shut up." He mumbled sleepily, only half-awake.


End file.
